AREA COLLEGES: Stonehill rally falls short

The eighth-ranked Skyhawks’ rally fall short in their field hockey season opener as they lose to seventh-ranked East Stroudsburg, 3-2, on Saturday.

All-American Jackie Ladino and Courtney Foley each scored a goal for Stonehill College on Saturday, but the eighth-ranked Skyhawks’ rally fell short as they lost to seventh-ranked East Stroudsburg, 3-2, in field hockey on Saturday.

Junior goalie Courtney Osier finished with five saves for the Skyhawks (0-1).

Junior Michaela Deasy had an assist.

Trailing by three goals, Stonehill mounted a comeback effort, beginning with Foley’s goal as time expired in the opening half off a penalty corner. Ladino scored her 20th career goal 6:11 into the second half off a feed from Deasy.

Stonehill (0-1, 0-0 NE-10) returns to action today when it visits top-ranked and defending NCAA Div. II national champions Bloomsburg University at noon.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Merrimack 2, Concordia University 0:

Senior captain Gabrielle Gramprey of Brockton notched her second game-winning goal in as many games as Merrimack (1-0) beat Concordia.

Freshman Jenn Pino scored a goal in the final minutes of the second half and senior goalkeeper Brittany Gustafson recorded the shutout victory in 59 minutes of play.

Stonehill 3, Holy Family 1:

Junior Kirstie St. Martin scored all three goals to lead the Skyhawks to a victory over Holy Family.

Junior Julia Swierzoski and sophomore Kelsey Mahoney each had an assist for Stonehill (1-0), and goalie Sarah Hickey recorded eight saves to preserve the win for the Skyhawks.

MEN’S SOCCER

Stonehill 1, Concordia University 0:

Stonehill College sophomore Michael White scored with 1:25 left in the first overtime to give the Skyhawks a victory over Concordia.

Junior Stephen Day had the assist for Stonehill (2-0) and junior goalkeeper Brandon McFarlane had one save for Stonehill’s first shutout of the season and the third of his career.

Stonehill had the better of the scoring chances all day and appeared to get the break they were looking for when the Skyhawks were awarded a penalty kick in the 89th minute. However, senior Shaun Keeley lifted the penalty shot just over the crossbar to keep the match scoreless and headed for overtime.